Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 914
EAN: 9781566919432
ISBN: 1566919436
Label: Avalon Travel Publishing
Manufacturer: Avalon Travel Publishing
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 560
Publication Date: 2006-11-22
Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing
Studio: Avalon Travel Publishing

Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: Even though Steves claims he is always updating these books, there were a lot of things had changed. My suspicion is that very little is updated each year. Some information was not accurate. Overall I wasn't too impressed with his recommendations. I suppose it is a good resource for someone who has no idea about what to expect. Next time I will make friends with locals and let him or her show me around.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great book to read before you go to Spain
Comment: This guy, Rick Steves... I owe him one. I guess I paid for the book so I all ready paid him back. Anyway, this is an excellent read. The only disappointment was the lack of discussion on hostels (he explains why fairly early) and the exemption of Valencia, which I believe deserves some mention somewhere in this book. Those are the only complaints I have thus far.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and user-unfriendly
Comment: First, some disclaimers: First, I did not do as Steves suggested in the introduction of this book and read it before traveling to Spain and then read it while traveling in Spain. I just didn't have the time. Second, I ended up traveling only to Barcelona, Madrid, and Mallorca, so there were huge chunks of the book I did not look at at all.

That being said, I'm really glad I chose to bring the Fodor's 2007 Gold Guide to Spain along with Steves's book. I was pretty displeased with the restaurant choices that we tried on his suggestion. Some of the descriptions of the restaurants led me to believe that he'd just described them based on what he'd been told about them by the owners rather than having tasted the fare at any of them himself. I realize that these things are subjective, and that it'd be impossible to agree with all of the recommendations in any tour guide, but there really was a noticeable lack of breadth and truly helpful detail, if even a little, in the choice of restaurants. The Fodor's guide far surpassed Steves's book in this regard, offering a wide range of restaurants in different neighborhoods and price ranges, and its descriptions were much more illustrative. Most of the information on which we based our food choices when picking restaurants in the Fodor's guide was spot on.

Also, the layout was cumbersome and the maps poorly and confusingly drawn. There was an inconsistency in the listing of the closest Metro stops for various attractions. That is, not all of the BCN and MAD sights were cross-referenced with the nearest subway stop. And when a subway stop was mentioned, sometimes it was right at the beginning of the listing; sometimes it was at the end. In addition, the maps in the book are described as being hand-drawn not necessarily to scale but to show just the necessary info. I appreciate the effort and the thinking behind the concept, but the lack of accurate scale on these maps really made walking around the city streets under the hot August sun crankifying. The maps need more detail than they have.

In addition, this book includes some walking tour guides meant to accompany travelers as they walk through, say, Gaudi's unfinished cathedral or the Picasso Museum in BCN. These guides are quite long, and may perhaps be useful for some. But unless you photocopy or cut out those pages to bring with you, it's really not worth it to lug a heavy guide book along with you as you're trying to enjoy the exhibits in front of you. Besides, many museums and other cultural sites have audio tour guides that you can rent for a nominal fee. Listening while looking is a lot easier than reading while looking.

And finally, although this is perhaps a minor point, I was pretty appalled that the book did not include anything on the Balearic Islands (including Mallorca). As popular destinations in Spain, they deserved inclusion. This was another way the Fodor's guide "paid the rent" in my luggage. Based on the portions of the Steves guide I did use, I think I'll leave his guide home on my next trip to Spain.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: An invaluable tool for travel in Spain
Comment: Having Rick Steves' Spain book in my bag on our recent trip was like having a good friend whisper tips and suggestions into our ears everywhere we went. His advice was specific and trustworty. We went off the beaten-path quite a bit on our own to places we wouldn't otherwise have dared to visit, but we did so with confidence because Rick never steered us wrong. Honestly, the only bad move we made using this guide related to some unexpected street construction that messed up his direction of where to turn upon exiting the metro station.

Rick magically seemed to have similar tastes to ours, too. We liked his frank "don't bother with this place" sort of advice and his saucy bits of trivia that certain tourist locations don't readily share or want you to know when you visit.

My daughter had purchased her own Spain guidebooks for her two-month study program there. When I later joined her in Spain for two weeks of travel, she eventually left her guidebooks in our hotel rooms and used my Rick Steves book instead.

My only (minor) complaint is that the map pages at the front of the book started falling out. I got free local maps from the T.I.'s, as Rick suggested, but it would have been convenient to still have those ones in the book, too. Also, we would have liked some metro maps, but maybe the routes change enough as to become obsolete in a guidebook.

Overall, a terrific guidebook--the only one you really need. Carry it in your day bag with a bottled water and a hat for the Spanish sun, and you'll be set for travel throughout the country.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Useful guide book.
Comment: I used this book for a month of traveling through southern Spain this past May. There are many good recommendations and useful maps in the book. I went to almost all of the recommended sights for the cities I stayed in and they were all worthwhile. As a student traveling on a budget I wish Rick mentioned something about student discounts. If you're traveling through Europe with a student ID make sure to ask for student discounts everywhere you go. Most museums such as the Prado offer half price tickets for students. I got into the Alcazar in Sevilla for free with my ID. Many flamenco shows and cathedrals also offer discounts. The book doesn't mention anything about Valencia, which is a bit odd since it's Spain's third largest city after Madrid and Barcelona. My ipod was stolen there and I heard many complains of pickpocket incidents so keep a very watchful eye on all your belongings, especially your passport. DO NOT show it to anyone unless you know for sure they are officials and it is absolutely necessary. Enjoy!

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